Monitoring and Evaluating Court-Based Dispute Resolution Programs: A Guide for Judges and Court Managers

• NCJ Number: 174142
• Author(s): M Ostermeyer; S L Keilitz
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 106 pages
• Grant Number(s): SJI-95-03E-B-029
• Sponsoring Agency: State Justice Institute
• Corporate Author: National Ctr for State Courts
• Sale Source: State Justice Institute
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This guide provides courts with the tools they need to develop monitoring and evaluation initiatives designed to identify the strengths and areas for improving court-based alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs.

Abstract

The guide advises that program monitoring and evaluation efforts have a number of purposes. They include determining the degree to which ADR is used by the appropriate target populations or caseloads; whether or not ADR services are provided in accordance with program goals, policies, procedures, and standards; and whether administrative and policy changes should be made to improve service delivery. A chapter on planning and implementing a monitoring or evaluation project addresses the development of a program profile, securing planning participants, setting program goals, establishing monitoring or evaluation objectives, developing an implementation plan, and assessing the monitoring or evaluation system. Four chapters focus on the data that are relevant to the measurement of performance, data- collection strategies, and data analysis. Other chapters address the selection of an external evaluator, a case study, and the distribution of the evaluation report. The guide also contains resources, including a monitoring and evaluation worksheet, prototypes of data-collection forms, various standards for court- based ADR programs, and 13 recommended readings.